Mid-Continent University scored four goals, three by senior midfielder Keane Bennett, who is pictured on the right, in the first 8:13 of the match and improved its record to 6-5-1 with a 5-0 non-conference men's soccer victory over Harris- Stowe State University (0-12-0) from St. Louis, Thursday, October 7, at the Cougar Soccer Complex. MCU recorded its third shutout victory of the season.
The small crowd had barely settled into its seats when Bennett scored his fifth goal of the season and first of three in the match from 20 feet out to the left of the goal at 4:31 after taking a pass from senior Marcio das Neves (Porto Alegre, Brazil), pictured on the left, the first of his three assists for the afternoon. Bennett earned his sixth goal of the season at 6:03 with Das Neves earning the assist, and completed a natural three-goal hat trick at 7:09 with an unassisted goal, his team-leading seventh of the season, on a chip lifted over the goalie to the far right post. Das Neves also assisted on Bennett's third goal and now has a team-best 4 assists for the season. Bennett totaled 5 shots and all three of his shots on goal found the back of the net.
MCU freshman forward Keagan Bacchus (Pt. Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago), pictured on the left, made the score 4-0 with his fifth goal of the season at 8:13, and MCU capped the scoring at 41:18 whenfreshman forward Fallou Diaw (Senegal/Louisville, KY/Seneca HS), pictured on the left, scored his first collegiate goal, kicking in a chip assist delivered by freshman forward Jordan Ramage (Paducah, KY/Reidland HS), who earned his first collegiate assist on the play. Junior Mauricio Da Silva (Porto Alegre, Brazil, also earned an assist on the play, his third of the season.
Ramage, pictured on the left, and freshmen forwards Jamison Imhoff (Lansing, MI/New Covenant Christian School) and Timothy Clements (Englewood, FL/Lemon Bay HS) each tried 3 shots in the match, with Ramage receiving credit for 2 shots on goal in addition to his assist, and Imhoff putting one on goal.
Mid-Continent dominated the statistics, outshooting HSSU, 22-6, with 5 goals on just 9 shots on goal. Two HSSU goalkeepers, Colby Poindexter and Nick Gentry combined for 4 saves, with Poindexter charged with MCU's first 4 tallies. MCU also led 5-1 in corner kicks.
A trio of Mid-Continent freshmen goalkeepers combined for the shutout win and saved both HSSU shots on goal they faced. Starter Andres Blanco (Valencia, Spain/Pio XII HS) saved one shot on goal in the first half, and Adam Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland) started the second half in his collegiate debut and saved one shot on goal in 34 minutes. Juan Herrera (Houston, TX/Nimitz HS) played the final 11 minutes but faced no shots on goal.